Coach: Tim Beckman (second season), who was an assistant coach for Urban Meyer at Bowling Green from 1998-2004 and and assistant coach at Ohio State under Jim Tressel in 2005-2006.

So far this season: 3-6

Last season: 2-10, 0-8 (sixth, Leaders Division)

Series: Ohio State leads 65-30-4. This is the 100th meeting between the two schools, dating back to 1902.

Last meeting: OSU won 52-22 last season in Ohio Stadium

Battle for Illibuck - Illinois and Ohio State will be playing for the Illibuck trophy, a symbol of the rivalry. Illibuck is - or was - a turtle that was passed back and forth between the schools before dying in 1927. The trophy since then has been a wooden turtle. Members of two junior honorary societies, Bucket and Dipper of Ohio State and Atius-Sachem of Illinois, annually meet at halftime of the Fighting Illini-Buckeye game to present the "Illibuck" trophy to the previous year's winning school.

Ohio connection - Illinois has 18 players from Ohio on its roster, including freshman DB Caleb Day from Hilliard Darby. Among Illinois coaches, both Beckman and running backs coach Tim Salem coached at Ohio State. Salem was OSU's quarterbacks coach from 1997 to 2000.

Quarterback success - Senior QB Nathan Scheelhaase has thrived in the system of new offensive coordinator and Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit. He leads the Big Ten and ranks in the top 25 nationally in completions per game (22.1 cpg, 15th) and passing yards per game (268.9 ypg, 22nd), and ranking second in the conference and 23rd nationally in total offense (285.7 ypg).

Switch to offense - Senior wide receiver Steve Hull, who spent the last three years as a starting safety, exploded for 224 yards receiving at Indiana. It was the second-best single-game total in school history and made him one of only three players in Illinois history to record 200-plus receiving yards in a game.

On defense - Senior linebacker and All-America candidate Jonathan Brown leads the Big Ten and ranks 20th nationally in tackles per game (9.8). He is one of only two players in the nation currently averaging over 9.5 tackles per game with at least 10 tackels for loss.

Outlook - Illinois has lost 19 Big Ten games in a row and it looks like that streak will reach 20 this weekend.